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Single Idea 14823
[filed under theme 22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / g. Moral responsibility
]
Full Idea
Man's complete lack of responsibility, for his behaviour and for his nature, is the bitterest drop which the man of knowledge must swallow, if he had been in the habit of seeing responsibility and duty as humanity's claim to nobility.
Gist of Idea
Ceasing to believe in human responsibility is bitter, if you had based the nobility of humanity on it
Source
Friedrich Nietzsche (Human, All Too Human [1878], 107)
Book Ref
Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'Human, All Too Human', ed/tr. Faber,Marion [Penguin 1994], p.74
A Reaction
If you were seeing humanity as little transient angels, living a moral life that was an echo of God's, then you needed cutting down to size. But if you ask if there is anything 'noble' in the universe, it will still be the fine deeds of humanity.
The
38 ideas
with the same theme
[when is a person morally responsible?]:
3026
|
Actions are influenced by circumstances, so Cyrenaics say felons should be reformed, not hated
[Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius]
|
22512
|
Acts are voluntary if done knowingly, by the agent, and in his power to avoid it
[Aristotle]
|
7814
|
It was Epicurus who made the question of the will's freedom central to ethics
[Epicurus, by Grayling]
|
525
|
Behave well when alone, and feel shame in you own eyes
[Democritus (attr)]
|
20838
|
Fate initiates general causes, but individual wills and characters dictate what we do
[Chrysippus]
|
21678
|
If desire is not in our power then neither are choices, so we should not be praised or punished
[Cicero]
|
5770
|
Rewards and punishments are not deserved if they don't arise from free movement of the mind
[Boethius]
|
1850
|
Without free will not only is ethical action meaningless, but also planning, commanding, praising and blaming
[Aquinas]
|
7496
|
Rules and duties are based on the will, as that is all we control
[Montaigne]
|
7569
|
Humans are moral, and capable of reward and punishment, because of memory and self-consciousness
[Leibniz, by Jolley]
|
2225
|
If you deny all necessity and causation, then our character is not responsible for our crime
[Hume]
|
2226
|
Repentance gets rid of guilt, which shows that responsibility arose from the criminal principles in the mind
[Hume]
|
7235
|
Without freedom of will actions lack moral significance
[Rousseau]
|
21378
|
We clearly feel responsible for our deeds, because we are quite certain that we did them
[Schopenhauer]
|
7222
|
It is a crime for someone with a violent disposition to get drunk
[Mill]
|
14807
|
The history of morality rests on an error called 'responsibility', which rests on an error called 'free will'
[Nietzsche]
|
14823
|
Ceasing to believe in human responsibility is bitter, if you had based the nobility of humanity on it
[Nietzsche]
|
14824
|
It is absurd to blame nature and necessity; we should no more praise actions than we praise plants or artworks
[Nietzsche]
|
22473
|
Nietzsche said the will doesn't exist, so it can't ground moral responsibility
[Nietzsche, by Foot]
|
2904
|
The doctrine of free will has been invented essentially in order to blame and punish people
[Nietzsche]
|
4521
|
None of the ancients had the courage to deny morality by denying free will
[Nietzsche]
|
20166
|
A man is a responsible agent to the extent he has an intention, and knows what he is doing
[Hampshire]
|
22474
|
Unlike aesthetic evaluation, moral evaluation needs a concept of responsibility
[Foot]
|
9270
|
A 'wanton' is not a person, because they lack second-order volitions
[Frankfurt]
|
9269
|
A person may be morally responsible without free will
[Frankfurt]
|
20168
|
Blame usually has no effect if the recipient thinks it unjustified
[Williams,B]
|
20167
|
Blame partly rests on the fiction that blamed agents always know their obligations
[Williams,B]
|
2178
|
In bad actions, guilt points towards victims, and shame to the agent
[Williams,B]
|
6699
|
The chain of consequences may not be the same as the chain of responsibility
[Graham]
|
23087
|
Much human evil is not autonomous, so moral responsibility need not be autonomous
[Kekes]
|
23089
|
Evil people may not be autonomously aware, if they misjudge the situation
[Kekes]
|
23093
|
Moral and causal responsibility are not clearly distinct
[Kekes]
|
23094
|
Ought implies can means moral responsibility needs autonomy
[Kekes]
|
23096
|
Morality should aim to prevent all evil actions, not just autonomous ones
[Kekes]
|
23095
|
Why should moral responsibility depend on autonomy, rather than social role or experience?
[Kekes]
|
23098
|
Effects show the existence of moral responsibility, and mental states show the degree
[Kekes]
|
20170
|
Responsibility is unprovoked foreseeable harm, against society, arising from vicious character
[Kekes]
|
23557
|
To judge agents in remote times and cultures we need a moral resentment weaker than blame
[Fricker,M]
|